


I Need Someone to Get Things for Me, You'll Do

by Skyeec2



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: AU, Fantasy AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 03:18:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10688682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyeec2/pseuds/Skyeec2
Summary: I’m an alchemist, and you’re my ever-so-patient assistant who finds me the random ingredients I ask for, I really need to find a way to thank you. AU





	I Need Someone to Get Things for Me, You'll Do

**Author's Note:**

> AU prompt from @promptlywritingideas OTP Prompts Fantasy Edition on Tumblr.

After the plague swept through the city and Shinra stopped making people into monsters, Cloud had hung up his weapons and decided to return to his alchemist job. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life hunting monsters and since he had the skills why shouldn’t he use them?

His friends had accepted his decision, though Tifa in particular hadn’t understood why he wanted to have his own space. He didn’t know why she thought he wasn’t going to get his own place to live and work in but she had.

His business was good, there weren’t many others like it left after everything so he didn’t much competition. Many people came to him for cheap, healing potions and various medicines.

Good business though meant a greater need for ingredients. He was able to grow a lot of what he needed here in the city but some ingredients were only found in specific parts of the world, often at very specific times of the year.

He had tried to find an assistant to retrieve the ingredients he needed but it was hard to find people with the specific criteria he needed. Most people that could safely travel to where the ingredients were located were already employed by WRO and what remained of Shinra.

The ones that he had tried had been unable to safely harvest the ingredients without damaging themselves or the ingredients.

So without someone to help him get the ingredients he needed, he was forced to take numerous, long trips to find what he needed when he had the chance.

He was just returning from gathering ingredients along the coastline when Reeve called him. Apparently Shinra had made more monster people but hadn’t thought to tell anyone after it blew up in their faces and now they were pissed and determined to destroy Shinra.

Cloud had agreed to help with the issue but had stressed that he wasn’t going to kill anyone, he wasn’t some murder-for-hire no matter what others seemed to think.

 

* * *

 

The battle was more interesting than he thought it would be, after news got out that he wasn’t killing anyone one of the Deepground victims, a tall woman draped in red continuous sought him out on the battlefield.

Though the woman was a formidable foe, she wasn’t anything close to The Calamity’s level so Cloud was able to hold his own well enough against her relentless onslaught.

This time it was up to Vincent to put a stop to whatever plan Deepground had to destroy every they knew, once again. It had something to do with Vincent’s ex-girlfriend and the experiments that she and Hojo performed on him.

The end of the battle was announced by the remaining Deepground victims falling to the ground unconscious. He had been fighting the red woman at the time when she collapsed, he had managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

She was heavier than he was expecting, all solid muscle in his arms. She was also much taller than he was so that made it a bit difficult to carry her back to safety.

Lucky for her and the other remaining people of Deepground, the WRO believed in second chances and not killing people while they were unconscious. Also, lucky for them that they were insuring what remained of Shinra didn’t get within 10-feet of where they were being kept.

Cloud was suddenly overwhelmed with work, making healing potions for those wounded during the battle and those that they rescued from inside the facility.

He had been working on another batch of healing potion when Reeve came to him to discuss what they were planning on doing with the warriors when they eventually woke up.

Reeve had asked him to take one in with him, to keep an eye on them and help them assimilate to normal day-to-day life. Cloud had been suspicious at first but he eventually decided to do it.

Reeve was ecstatic when Cloud gave him his answer, telling him that he was being ‘an immense help’ by taking in Rosso.

That was the first-time Cloud had heard that name but Reeve left before he could ask the man about who that was.

 

* * *

 

 

He met Rosso the next day; Rosso turned out to be a woman, the woman draped in red that had kept attacking him during the attacks.

She wasn’t very happy to see him but couldn’t do too much of anything with how many drugs she was on at the time.

She still tried though, leaping at him from the bed. She hadn’t been able to cross the distance between them though and ended up gasping for breath on the ground.

He had moved to stand above, looking down at her sprawled form on the ground. “Do you want any help?” He had asked her; her response was to try to attack him from the ground.

“This is going to be great.” He told her after depositing her back on her bed. He wouldn’t hold the awful fight against her; she was on drugs that dulled her senses and reflexes.

Reeve had stayed by the door, watching them intently. He beamed at Cloud when he was sure that Rosso wasn’t going to attack again. “She’ll be ready to leave tomorrow.”

Cloud noticed that Rosso hadn’t made a move to indicate that she cared about Reeve talking about her like she wasn’t there.

This was going to be great.

 

* * *

 

Cloud’s life returned to a normal state after that, he just had a new roommate now. That and he’s almost training someone to help him do things.

For a while Rosso remained upstairs, in the part of the building that functioned as Cloud’s home. She ignored the world for as long as she could, refusing to interact with anyone.

Cloud had a lot of work to do so he left her alone until she was ready to face the new world she had been forced into.

At least until he needed to replenish the ingredients he could grow himself.

He managed to get her out of her room, but she quieter than he was expecting her to be. She kept close as they travelled to their destination, avoiding interacting with the few people they came across.

Instead she watched the world around them, staring at the forests and grasslands they passed with intent focus. Cloud was suddenly reminded that she had never seen the world aboveground before the attacks, this was all a new world for her.

They reached the shore in good-time and Cloud easily found what he was looking for. He thought that Rosso was watching the ocean so he was surprised by how close she was to him, watching him harvest the ingredients.

He blinked at her for a moment before gesturing for her to come closer. When she was crouched next to him in the sand he handed her a knife and began explaining how to properly harvest the plant before them without damaging any part of the plant and leaving enough for the plants to regrow.

She was completely focused on what he was telling her and was quick to understand what he was saying. After a few false starts she was working steadily on what Cloud had asked her to.

Cloud watched her carefully as she worked, carefully binding the harvested ingredients together after a close inspection. Working together they finished far quicker than if Cloud had been working alone.

He had more things to collect while they were here so he showed her how to handle each individual ingredient and when it was safe enough he allowed her to harvest them.

If things continued to progress like this than he mightn’t need to continue searching for an assistant.

 

* * *

 

Cloud was working on a potion for a client when he heard the bell that hung above his workshop’s door ring. “Sorry, we’re closed right now!” He called into the front-room from where he was working.

“It is only me, Cloud.” Came the heavily accented voice of his assistant from his front-room.

“Your back already?” He asked, keeping his attention on the potion. “Wasn’t expecting you back for at least another week.”

“People were more willing to talk than you said they would be.” His assistant said, voice coming from the doorway between the two parts of his store.

He reached the point where he could leave the potion for a few minutes and left it to shimmer on the flame.

He lifted his gaze from the potion to gaze at Rosso. She was leaning against the door in her travelling gear, she must have left her weapon by the door because he couldn’t see the large blade on her.

She was watching him expectantly, her red eyes trained on him intently as she watched him work on the potion. She was holding a wooden box used specifically to carry alchemic ingredients.

He moved over to her to take the box from her, bringing it back to the other bench to inspect the ingredients held within.

“Really?” He asked as he gingerly lifted the first vial from within the safety of the material lining the box. “Usually they’re so tight-lipped I can barely get their names out of them.”

She followed him to the bench, the sharp sound of her heeled boots on the hardwood floor. She watched as he inspected what she had brought him. “They seemed quite eager to please.” She informed him dryly, “they were probably worried that I would destroy their village if they didn’t talk to me.”

Cloud snorted, putting down the first vial to inspect the next one. “You’d think people living near an active volcano would be used to the threat of having their homes burned down.” He spoke calmly, turning until he could see the fine flowers clinging to the stem of the volcanic plant.

He flecked his gaze to Rosso to see that she was scowling at the dark-wood of the bench, her red eyes glaring at the pattern of the wood.

“Or they were terrified of the blade-wielding, tall women who scowls at everybody she looks at.” He suggested, trying to lighten the women’s darkening mood.

She scoffs at his words but relaxes, no longer scowling at the bench. Instead she returned her attention to the vials Cloud was inspecting, “they are what you were looking for, yes?”

Cloud hummed, swapping the vial he was inspecting for another in the box. “They’re the right plants and they look to be in good condition.” He told her, “you always bring me quality ingredients.”

“It is what you keep me around for, no?” She questioned, prompting her head up on her fist.

“Well, I don’t keep you around for your wonderful people skills.” He pointed out, inspecting the final vial she had brought him.

“I keep sending you to the strangest places to find ingredients,” he said suddenly, placing the vial down on the bench. “I need to do something to thank you.”

“You do not need to do anything,” she said awkwardly shifting on her feet. “I enjoy going to find ingredients for you, I would never have been able to see those places if you were not willing to take me in.”

“I told you not to worry about that.” The alchemist stated moving back to start the next part of the potion. “But since you’re back early, you can watch while I do this.”

“Is that what you needed the fireweed for?” Rosso questioned, watching him as he started preparing the next set of ingredients he needed confidently.

“No,” he responded absentmindedly. “It’s a little something to help with some more ‘intimate’ issues.”

Rosso made a soft sound of recognition before settling in to watch him work.


End file.
